Winter wonderland debuts on Daytona beachside Saturday

Thursday

Nov 28, 2013 at 8:21 PMNov 28, 2013 at 8:24 PM

Light up ceremonies will be held in front of the Ocean Center, Bandshell, Ocean Walk Shoppes and Daytona Lagoon water park.

DAYTONA BEACH — The area around the Ocean Walk Shoppes and Boardwalk is about to be transformed into a winter wonderland — beach style.The official kickoff for “A December To Remember Daytona Beach” arrives at 7:15 p.m. Saturday, when light up ceremonies will be held in front of the Ocean Center, Bandshell, Ocean Walk Shoppes and Daytona Lagoon water park. All four locations will flip the switch simultaneously to illuminate their holiday lights, including Christmas trees on the Ocean Center lawn, and each spot will have special activities.Santa will visit the Ocean Center, and singers will be part of the celebration there. At the Bandshell, people will be treated to a live performance by a singer starting at 7 p.m. The Ocean Walk Shoppes will have free pictures with Santa, free hot cocoa and cookies, and a touch of snow falling every hour.By early December a sand racetrack in front of the Bandshell will be set up for remote-control car races, Santa will be stationed in a special house near the Bandshell, decorated Christmas trees and lights will be glowing throughout the core tourist area, a choo-choo train will be chugging around Ocean Walk Shoppes, people will be getting sugar fixes at a cookie decorating station, and a kids’ snow zone with real snow will be ready for children who want to play in the icy piles.“I always wanted to create a Christmas village,” said Helen Riger, the city’s cultural services administrator. “I was out there this morning in my Santa hat.”The city, Volusia County government and private businesses who’ve donated $35,000 teamed up to put together the cluster of holiday decorations and activities.Another night of note will be Dec. 5, when a Hanukkah celebration with music acts at the Bandshell takes place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.After Saturday, most ongoing activities will be around the Bandshell and Ocean Walk Shoppes and extend through Jan. 4. Those ongoing activities will include snow falling on the hour from the top of the Ocean Walk Shoppes down to the courtyard area, where there will be decorated Christmas trees, including one that will be 30 feet tall.There will also be afternoon pony rides starting Dec. 7, arts and crafts vendors, sand sculpting, various musical acts at the Bandshell and fireworks off the Daytona Beach Pier on Saturday nights. Some activities will be free, such as the kids’ snow play area, but others will involve a charge, such as for the pony rides and racing on the sand track.With the wind and rain expected this week, the city will wait until next week to start constructing Santa’s house and the sand race course, which will be a replica of Bill France Sr.’s 1952 beach race course, Riger said. Those who have spent time on the beachside over the past few holiday seasons will notice the temporary ice rink that had been in front of the Bandshell the last two years is missing. Attendance never reached the levels organizers had hoped, and no one wanted to chance a third season of lackluster customer tallies.Shawn Fisher, general manager of Sloppy Joe’s restaurant in the Ocean Walk Shoppes, doesn’t think the ice rink funneled too many customers his way, and he said the rink’s tent blocked his customers’ view of the ocean. But he has high hopes for the new activities planned this year.“I’m excited to see what this brings,” Fisher said. “It’s something different. ... As a merchant here you’ve got to be excited when things try to draw people off season.”Gerard Gammero, general manager of the Ocean Walk Shoppes, is also hopeful about the new holiday plans.“I think it’ll be something a little bit different for the whole month,” Gammero said. “This new stuff will get out more demographics and get people out more often. We hope to get people down here and in the holiday spirit.”

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